HEALTHBEHAVIOURINSCHOOL-AGEDCHILDREN

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION COLLABORATIVE CROSS-NATIONAL SURVEY

HBSC News

News Item: HBSC Network publishes: Social capital and social inequality in adolescents’ health in 601 Flemish communities: A multilevel analysis

This study investigated whether community social capital is an independent determinant of adolescents’ perceived health and well-being. Results show individual level factors (such as family affluence) as positively related to perceived health and well-being and that community level social capital predicted health better than individual social capital. A significant complex interaction effect was found, such that the social gradient in perceived health and well-being was flattened in communities with a high level of community social capital. Furthermore, socioeconomic status differences in perceived health and well-being substantially narrow in communities where a certain (average) level of community social capital is present.